Tree removal at the site of the Asian longhorned beetle infestation
in Jersey City is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, January 21st.

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture has contracted with a tree
removal service to begin the first phase of tree removal, in which 102
infested trees and 48 adjacent host trees will be removed from the nine-acre
site.

By
early spring, more than 300 additional potential host trees on that
site will be removed. The trees will be replaced using federal funding
secured through the state Department of Environmental Protection's
Community Forestry Program.

"The
Asian longhorned beetle is a very serious threat to our residential
trees and forested lands," said Agriculture Secretary Charles M.
Kuperus. "Tree removal is the most effective way to ensure that
we eradicate this highly destructive insect."

The
Asian longhorned beetle, which attacks and kills maple and other
hardwood trees, was discovered in Jersey City in October. It was
the first time the beetle, which has caused serious tree losses
in New York and Chicago, had been sighted in New Jersey.

The beetle
was detected on a largely commercial site located just north of the Newport
Parkway and just east of Washington Boulevard. The N.J. Department of
Agriculture has quarantined the affected nine-acre site and the surrounding
1½-mile area. With the help of tree climbers from the U.S. Forest Service,
state and federal officials continue to canvass parks and neighborhoods
for signs of additional infestation in potential host trees.

To date,
approximately 30 percent of potential host trees in Jersey City and more
than 10 percent of potential host trees in Hoboken have been inspected
within the quarantine area, with no further infestation detected. The
surveys are expected to continue until at least May 1.

There are
no plans to remove trees beyond the nine-acre site unless further infestation
is detected. The removed trees will be chipped on site into 5/8-inch diameter
pieces - small enough to ensure that any beetle larvae are killed.

The quarantine in the 1½ -mile area surrounding the infested site continues
to restrict the movement of firewood, green lumber and other living, dead,
cut or fallen material -- including nursery stock, logs, stumps, roots
and branches -- from potential host trees. These materials may not be
moved outside the quarantined area.

PRESS AVAILABILITY - Staff from the N.J. Department of Agriculture
and U.S. Department of Agriculture will be available on site at 11 a.m.
Tuesday for reporters and photographers interested in covering the tree
removal. Meet at Washington Boulevard and Newport Parkway, opposite the
Staples store.